Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust faces a grilling
The trust which runs Shropshire's two main hospitals and faces a grilling over its finances actually made a surplus last year.
Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust has found itself in the spotlight after the Audit Commission expressed concerns.
It was one of 19 trusts identified nationally as giving cause for concern.
The Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Hospital Trust runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal.
Its chief executive, Peter Herring, said: "The trust board has been very clear that the configuration of hospital services across two hospital sites and the implications of serving a large population over the second-largest geographical catchment area in the country creates additional costs. While the trust posted a small surplus in the financial accounts for 2013/14, it has not achieved its statutory duty of breaking-even over a five year period.
"In the medium-term our financial plans clearly demonstrate that we will require significant financial support until such time as we are able to re-shape our hospital services – first and foremost to provide the best and safest possible care to our patients – but also to enable significant additional costs to be eliminated."
